Industrial Relations: Proceedings from the 1999 Australasian Drama Studies Association Conference

These papers were presented at “Industrial Relations”, the Australasian Drama Studies Association conference hosted by Theatre & Teaching Studies in the Academy of the Arts, Queensland University of Technology, from the 5th to the 9th of July, 1999. Conference delegates included scholars and artists from across the tertiary education and professional theatre sectors, including, of course, many individuals who work across and between both those worlds. More than a hundred delegates from Australia, New Zealand, England, Belgium and Canada attended the week’s events, which included: • Over sixty conference papers covering a variety of topics from project reports to academy/industry partnerships, theatre history, audience reception studies, health & safety, cultural policy, performance theory, theatre technology and more; • Performances ranging from drama to dance, music and cabaret; • Workshops, panel discussions, forums and interviews; • Keynote addresses from Wesley Enoch, Josette Feral and Keith Johnstone; and • A special “Links with Industry” day, which included the launch of ADSA’s “Links with Industry” brochure, an interview between Mark Radvan and David Williamson, and a panel session featuring Jules Holledge, Zane Trow, Katharine Brisbane, John Kotzas, Gay McAuley and David Watt.

Indoor environment sustainability of residential industrial housing in Malaysia

The importance of sustainable development has been internationally recognized and the principles have been widely used as an impetus for promoting housing sustainability. In the situation of mixed-use urban development in close proximity to heavy industrial areas in Malaysia, rising incomes are developing hand in hand with higher expectations for better and more sustainable housing designs. Negative environmental impacts due current deficiency in Malaysia’s approach to the implementation of sustainable development principles can be seen in this case study of the Pasir Gudang Industrial Area in Malaysia. This study aimed to highlight the level of residents’ satisfaction with living near the industrial area, and to relate their awareness of the relevance of sustainable principles with indoor environmental conditions, which found that the residents’ has limited understanding of the environmental problems in their indoor living conditions and in their neighborhoods. This study has suggested that proactive and integrated involvement by housing authorities from all levels of government in Malaysia should be encouraged in order to rationalise the approaches to develop better planning solutions for such mixed-used urban developments. This initiative should then encourage housing vendors to provide innovative ‘smart’ technological changes to their projects and so, to achieve a new direction in sustainable housing development.

Marketing Turistikog Odredista

Turisti danas imaju na raspolaganju pregršt mogućih odredišta za godišnji odmor. Na današnjem izrazito kompetitivnom turističkom tržištu, za konkurentnost odredišta nužna je učinkovita organizacija marketinga. Knjiga “Marketing turističkog odredišta” bavi se izazovima vezanim uz promociju odredišta na dinamičnim i heterogenim tržištima, te na razliku između onih koji se turizmom bave praktično i onih koji se njime bave akademski. Pisan od strane jednog “praktičara”, “Marketing turističkog odredišta” spaja turizam kao poslovni sektor i polje akademskog znanja, sintetizirajući mnoštvo akademske literature od izuzetnog praktičnog značaja za organizacije za upravljanje turističkim odredištima.

Visual localisation in outdoor industrial building environments

This paper presents a vision-based method of vehicle localisation that has been developed and tested on a large forklift type robotic vehicle which operates in a mainly outdoor industrial setting. The localiser uses a sparse 3D edgemap of the environment and a particle filter to estimate the pose of the vehicle. The vehicle operates in dynamic and non-uniform outdoor lighting conditions, an issue that is addressed by using knowledge of the scene to intelligently adjust the camera exposure and hence improve the quality of the information in the image. Results from the industrial vehicle are shown and compared to another laser-based localiser which acts as a ground truth. An improved likelihood metric, using peredge calculation, is presented and has shown to be 40% more accurate in estimating rotation. Visual localization results from the vehicle driving an arbitrary 1.5km path during a bright sunny period show an average position error of 0.44m and rotation error of 0.62deg.

Panel discussion and documentary screening to celebrate World Industrial Design Day (WIDD) 2010

This collaborative event was organised to coincide with International celebrations by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). The panel discussion involved industrial designers from a variety of backgrounds including academics, theorists and practitioners. Each panel member was given time to voice their opinion surrounding the theme of WIDD2010 "Industrial Design: Humane Solutions for a Resilient World". The discussion was then extended to the audience through active question and answer time. The panel included: * Professor Vesna Popovic FDIA - Queensland University of Technology * Adam Doyle, Studio Manager - Infinity Design Development * Scott Cox MDIA, Creative Director - Formwerx * Alexander Lotersztain, Director - Derlot * Philip Whiting FDIA, Design Convenor - QCA * Professor Tony Fry, Director Team D/E/S & QCA After this, the documentary by Gary Hewtsit "Objectified" was then screened (75 min).

Evolution and change in industrial clusters : an analysis of Hsinchu and Sophia Antipolis

The aim of this paper is to advance understandings of the processes of cluster-building and evolution, or transformative and adaptive change, through the conscious design and reflective activities of private and public actors. A model of transformation is developed which illustrates the importance of actors becoming exposed to new ideas and visions for industrial change by political entrepreneurs and external networks. Further, actors must be guided in their decision-making and action by the new vision, and this requires that they are persuaded of its viability through the provision of test cases and supportive resources and institutions. In order for new ideas to become guiding models, actors must be convinced of their desirability through the portrayal of models as a means of confronting competitive challenges and serving the economic interests of the city/region. Subsequent adaptive change is iterative and reflexive, involving a process of strategic learning amongst key industrial and political actors.

An application of Keller’s Brand Equity Model in a B2B context

Powerful brands create meaningful images in the minds of customers (Keller, 1993). A strong brand image and reputation enhances differentiation and has a positive influence on buying behaviour (Gordon et al., 1993; McEnally and de Chernatony, 1999). While the power of branding is widely acknowledged in consumer markets, the nature and importance of branding in industrial markets remains under-researched. Many business-to-business (B2B) strategists have claimed brand-building belongs in the consumer realm. They argue that industrial products do not need branding as it is confusing and adds little value to functional products (Collins, 1977; Lorge, 1998; Saunders and Watt, 1979). Others argue that branding and the concept of brand equity however are increasingly important in industrial markets, because it has been shown that what a brand means to a buyer can be a determining factor in deciding between industrial purchase alternatives (Aaker, 1991). In this context, it is critical for suppliers to initiate and sustain relationships due to the small number of potential customers (Ambler, 1995; Webster and Keller, 2004). To date however, there is no model available to assist B2B marketers in identifying and measuring brand equity. In this paper, we take a step in that direction by operationalising and empirically testing a prominent brand equity model in a B2B context. This makes not only a theoretical contribution by advancing branding research, but also addresses a managerial need for information that will assist in the assessment of industrial branding efforts.

The effectiveness of marketing communication within the immersive environment

Immersive environments are part of a recent media innovation that allow users to become so involved within a computer-based simulated environment that they feel part of that virtual world (Grigorovici, 2003). A specific example is Second Life, which is an internet-based, three-dimensional immersive virtual world in which users create an online representation of themselves (an avatar) to play games and interact socially with thousands of people simultaneously. This study focuses on Second Life as an example of an immersive environment, as it is the largest adult freeform virtual world, home to 12 million avatars (IOWA State University, 2008). Already in Second Life there are more than 100 real-life brands from a range of industries, including automotive, professional services, and consumer goods and travel, among others (KZero, 2007; New Business Horizons, 2009). Compared to traditional advertising media, this interactive media can immerse users in the environment. As a result of this interactivity, users can become more involved with a virtual environment, resulting in prolonged usage over weeks, months and even years. Also, it can facilitate presence. Despite these developments, little is known about the effectiveness of marketing messages in a virtual world context. Marketers are incorporating products into Second Life using a strategy of online product placement. This study, therefore, explores the perceived effectiveness of online product placement in Second Life in terms of effects on product/brand recall, purchase intentions and trial. This research examines the association between individuals’ involvement with Second Life and online product placement effectiveness, as well as the relationship between individuals’ Second Life involvement and the effectiveness of online product placement. In addition, it investigates the association of immersion and product placement involvement. It also examines the impact of product placement involvement on online product placement effectiveness and the role of presence in affecting this relationship. An exploratory study was conducted for this research using semi-structured in-depth interviews face-to-face, email-based and in-world. The sample comprised 24 active Second Life users. Results indicate that product placement effectiveness is not directly associated with Second Life involvement, but rather effectiveness is impacted through the effect of Second Life involvement on product placement involvement. A positive relationship was found between individuals’ product placement involvement and online product placement effectiveness. Findings also indicate that online product placement effectiveness is not directly associated with immersion. Rather, it appears that effectiveness is impacted through the effect of immersion on product placement involvement. Moreover, higher levels of presence appear to have a positive impact on the relationship between product placement involvement and product placement effectiveness. Finally, a model was developed from this qualitative study for future testing. In terms of theoretical contributions, this study provides a new model for testing the effectiveness of product placement within immersive environments. From a methodological perspective, in-world interviews as a new research method were undertaken. In terms of a practical contribution, findings identified useful information for marketers and advertising agencies that aim to promote their products in immersive virtual environments like Second Life.

Industrial design in endoscopy : the development of a tissue and organ extractor

Throughout history, developments in medicine have aimed to improve patient quality of life, and reduce the trauma associated with surgical treatment. Surgical access to internal organs and bodily structures has been traditionally via large incisions. Endoscopic surgery presents a technique for surgical access via small (1 Omm) incisions by utilising a scope and camera for visualisation of the operative site. Endoscopy presents enormous benefits for patients in terms of lower post operative discomfort, and reduced recovery and hospitalisation time. Since the first gall bladder extraction operation was performed in France in 1987, endoscopic surgery has been embraced by the international medical community. With the adoption of the new technique, new problems never previously encountered in open surgery, were revealed. One such problem is that the removal of large tissue specimens and organs is restricted by the small incision size. Instruments have been developed to address this problem however none of the devices provide a totally satisfactory solution. They have a number of critical weaknesses: -The size of the access incision has to be enlarged, thereby compromising the entire endoscopic approach to surgery. - The physical quality of the specimen extracted is very poor and is not suitable to conduct the necessary post operative pathological examinations. -The safety of both the patient and the physician is jeopardised. The problem of tissue and organ extraction at endoscopy is investigated and addressed. In addition to background information covering endoscopic surgery, this thesis describes the entire approach to the design problem, and the steps taken before arriving at the final solution. This thesis contributes to the body of knowledge associated with the development of endoscopic surgical instruments. A new product capable of extracting large tissue specimens and organs in endoscopy is the final outcome of the research.